How to Make Happiness Happen

How to Make Happiness Happen

This is the fifth and last in a series of articles about the relationship between success and happiness. You can find the first four here, here ,here and here.

The strategies for becoming happier are not difficult to understand. However, changing entrenched patterns of behavior can be challenging. Here are some tips to help you achieve greater happiness in your life.

Plan to achieve your goals

The first step in achieving your goals is to identify the traits you need to adopt and the strategies you need to implement. Then devise a plan. You may be familiar with the saying that “those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”

Research confirms that having good intentions is not enough. One study involved college students whose goal was to increase their fruit intake by eating one piece of fruit every day for a couple of weeks. Those who planned in advance where and how they would eat their fruit were more likely to achieve their goal. Similar results were found for other goals, like exercising, quitting smoking, recycling and doing well in school.

Your plan should be both detailed in scope and realistic in practice. According to a study by the office of human resources at Dartmouth College, you are more likely to achieve your goals if they are: